Splashing through the sand bar
Talking by the campfire
It's the simple things in life, like when and where
We didn't have no internet
But man I never will forget
The way the moonlight shined upon her hair
[Chorus:]
And we were trying different things
We were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long...........
Day 51: Ottawa – REST DAY
Talking by the campfire
It's the simple things in life, like when and where
We didn't have no internet
But man I never will forget
The way the moonlight shined upon her hair
[Chorus:]
And we were trying different things
We were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long...........
- Kid Rock – All Summer Long
Day 51: Ottawa – REST DAY
August 10th Distance to date: 5334kms / 3,293 miles
It was so incredibly nice to wake up in a bed, have a clean towel, a hot shower and non-riding day to look forward to..! My legs were pretty sore from yesterdays ride and I was still a bit ‘off’ in terms of my general mood. Perhaps I am thinking too much about London, the work permit, my new job, friends and what the future may hold for me post-ride...
The cafeteria at Carlton University was FANTASTIC – this is how I imagine heaven to be – particularly because with one small coupon which we got at ‘check in’ you could have an ‘All You Can Eat’ breakfast – bagels, eggs, pancakes, cereal, fruit, muffins, toast, cereal (coc
o-puffs!!), REAL milk as well as lactose-intolerant milk… and the list goes on and on and on. It was AM-AZ-ING and as soon as I’d finished breakfast I was already looking forward to the following day. I feel as though I am biking to eat at the moment rather than eating to bike..! Everyone was walking around the cafeteria with their plates piled high with food with gigantic smiles on their faces.
It was so incredibly nice to wake up in a bed, have a clean towel, a hot shower and non-riding day to look forward to..! My legs were pretty sore from yesterdays ride and I was still a bit ‘off’ in terms of my general mood. Perhaps I am thinking too much about London, the work permit, my new job, friends and what the future may hold for me post-ride...
The cafeteria at Carlton University was FANTASTIC – this is how I imagine heaven to be – particularly because with one small coupon which we got at ‘check in’ you could have an ‘All You Can Eat’ breakfast – bagels, eggs, pancakes, cereal, fruit, muffins, toast, cereal (coc
o-puffs!!), REAL milk as well as lactose-intolerant milk… and the list goes on and on and on. It was AM-AZ-ING and as soon as I’d finished breakfast I was already looking forward to the following day. I feel as though I am biking to eat at the moment rather than eating to bike..! Everyone was walking around the cafeteria with their plates piled high with food with gigantic smiles on their faces.
The weather looked pretty grey and dull but I was keen to get out and get going so that I could head into Ottawa and have a look around the city – perhaps even immerse myself in some seriously hardcore retail therapy. Maybe a new biking top or some new lycra shorts would improve my mood..! Womens logic is a wonderful thing....
I headed off to the Parliament Buildings with Sandy and Carmen and met a super friendly girl named Amy on the bus into the city. I knew that I was long overdue to change my chain on my bike and should have brought it into a bike
shop but it was a Sunday and I desperately wanted to have a ‘bike free day’. Amy tagged along with Sandy, Carmen and I while we wandered around the Parliament buildings. It felt strange to look at these magnificent old buildings with their green copper roofs and imagine that this is the heart of Canada… this was the capital city of the country that we were cycling across. It led me to think back once again to my initial ‘What does it mean to be Canadian’ question and I used the opportunity of standing in front of the Parliament Buildings to reflect on some of the people that we’d met so far.
Parliament Hill stands at the heart of Canada as a national landmark, the centre stage of Canadian democracy and a heritage treasure. It is our nation’s meeting place: a place where all Canadians can express themselves fre
ely and were guests come together from across this great nation and from around the world.
We spent some time looking at the Library of Parliament. This building is clearly one of the most extraordinary examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Canada. Inaugerated in 1876 this magnificent building survived the devastating fire of 1916, which destroyed the original Centre Block. As a result it is the only part of the original Parliament Building still standing. It would be difficult to overstate the Library’s visual and symbolic impact. Home to a collection of over half a million books and documents, the library is for the use of parliamentarians and authorised clients.
Another key feature of Parliament Hill is the Peace Tower. The Peace Tower was built from 1919 to 1927 and was dedicated to the more than 60,000 Canadian soldiers who gave their lives on the battlefields of Europe during the First World War. Standing 92.2 metres (302 deet) tall, this tower was inaugurated during Canada’s 60th anniversary celebrations in 1927. The Peace Tower houses the Memorial Cha
mber, a commemoration to those who died in military service to Canada. Unlike the Victoria Tower, which it replaced, the Peace Tower is a campanile – a free standing bell tower. In addition to the bells that chime the quarter hours and strike the hours, it houses the carillon, a set of bells sounded from a keyboard. There are 52 bells in the Peace Tower carillon. The largest is called the ‘bourdon’ and weighs in at over 10,000 kilos (22,500 pounds!) which is roughly equivalent to the weight of three adult elephants..!
Finally, we stopped at a statue of five women enjoying their celebratory tea. I read the plaque which indicated that these women are depicted rejoicing over their victory
in the Persons Case of 1929, a landmark step in Canadian women’s struggle for equality. These women won a legal challenge to have women considered ‘persons’ under the British North America Act, making them eligible for appointment to the Senate. The women were, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, Nellie McClung and Irene Parlby.
After a wander around the Parliament buildings I left Carmen and Sandy and headed down to the Rideau Shopping Centre to indulge in some retail therapy – a dress for my sisters wedding was high on the list. Unfortunately my tan lines made for some interesting conversati
ons… going from a high-necked lycra biking jersey to a plunging silk neckline is not a recommended fashion statement and may lead me to resort to desperate measures of the ‘fake bake’ variety. Whilst the dress shopping expedition was unsuccessful I was successful in the infamous LouLou Lemon where I managed to pick up some new tops to add to my biking ensemble. I genuinely hope that I wear this stuff when I finish my trip..! I managed to chat to the girl from LouLou Lemon for ages and ages about the trip which was fun. People in Ottawa are so friendly..!!
I then headed to Blacks to get my passport photos taken for my British Highly Skilled Migrant Person (HSMP) visa which I was scheduled to pick up tomorrow at the British High Commission enabling me to work in the UK at the end of this crazy trip..!. Heading back for one last look at the Parliament buildings for the day I managed to catch the tail end of an Olympic parade for the Beijing Olympics. A fantastic array of color and music and multiculturalism..!
I then hopped on the bus back to Carlton University where I met Ross on the bus who had also had a relaxing afternoon. I must admit, I was super tired but it had been refreshing to spend some time away from my bike and the chain grease and bike-talk. I’m not sure why I’m in such a ‘changeable’ mood today – maybe nerves for my visa appointment tomorrow.
I sat in my room at Carlton and worked on my blog and ended up having an ‘early night’ because I was exhausted. Tomorrow had rain (arrrgh – I am so tired of all this bloody rain!!) in the forecast and was due to be a long day. The rest of the gang has gone out to clean out an all-you-can-eat sushi bar. I wonder if the owners of the restaurant know what they’re letting themselves into when they let that gang in the door..!!
I headed off to the Parliament Buildings with Sandy and Carmen and met a super friendly girl named Amy on the bus into the city. I knew that I was long overdue to change my chain on my bike and should have brought it into a bike
shop but it was a Sunday and I desperately wanted to have a ‘bike free day’. Amy tagged along with Sandy, Carmen and I while we wandered around the Parliament buildings. It felt strange to look at these magnificent old buildings with their green copper roofs and imagine that this is the heart of Canada… this was the capital city of the country that we were cycling across. It led me to think back once again to my initial ‘What does it mean to be Canadian’ question and I used the opportunity of standing in front of the Parliament Buildings to reflect on some of the people that we’d met so far.Parliament Hill stands at the heart of Canada as a national landmark, the centre stage of Canadian democracy and a heritage treasure. It is our nation’s meeting place: a place where all Canadians can express themselves fre
ely and were guests come together from across this great nation and from around the world.We spent some time looking at the Library of Parliament. This building is clearly one of the most extraordinary examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Canada. Inaugerated in 1876 this magnificent building survived the devastating fire of 1916, which destroyed the original Centre Block. As a result it is the only part of the original Parliament Building still standing. It would be difficult to overstate the Library’s visual and symbolic impact. Home to a collection of over half a million books and documents, the library is for the use of parliamentarians and authorised clients.
Another key feature of Parliament Hill is the Peace Tower. The Peace Tower was built from 1919 to 1927 and was dedicated to the more than 60,000 Canadian soldiers who gave their lives on the battlefields of Europe during the First World War. Standing 92.2 metres (302 deet) tall, this tower was inaugurated during Canada’s 60th anniversary celebrations in 1927. The Peace Tower houses the Memorial Cha
mber, a commemoration to those who died in military service to Canada. Unlike the Victoria Tower, which it replaced, the Peace Tower is a campanile – a free standing bell tower. In addition to the bells that chime the quarter hours and strike the hours, it houses the carillon, a set of bells sounded from a keyboard. There are 52 bells in the Peace Tower carillon. The largest is called the ‘bourdon’ and weighs in at over 10,000 kilos (22,500 pounds!) which is roughly equivalent to the weight of three adult elephants..!Finally, we stopped at a statue of five women enjoying their celebratory tea. I read the plaque which indicated that these women are depicted rejoicing over their victory
in the Persons Case of 1929, a landmark step in Canadian women’s struggle for equality. These women won a legal challenge to have women considered ‘persons’ under the British North America Act, making them eligible for appointment to the Senate. The women were, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, Nellie McClung and Irene Parlby.After a wander around the Parliament buildings I left Carmen and Sandy and headed down to the Rideau Shopping Centre to indulge in some retail therapy – a dress for my sisters wedding was high on the list. Unfortunately my tan lines made for some interesting conversati
ons… going from a high-necked lycra biking jersey to a plunging silk neckline is not a recommended fashion statement and may lead me to resort to desperate measures of the ‘fake bake’ variety. Whilst the dress shopping expedition was unsuccessful I was successful in the infamous LouLou Lemon where I managed to pick up some new tops to add to my biking ensemble. I genuinely hope that I wear this stuff when I finish my trip..! I managed to chat to the girl from LouLou Lemon for ages and ages about the trip which was fun. People in Ottawa are so friendly..!!I then headed to Blacks to get my passport photos taken for my British Highly Skilled Migrant Person (HSMP) visa which I was scheduled to pick up tomorrow at the British High Commission enabling me to work in the UK at the end of this crazy trip..!. Heading back for one last look at the Parliament buildings for the day I managed to catch the tail end of an Olympic parade for the Beijing Olympics. A fantastic array of color and music and multiculturalism..!
I then hopped on the bus back to Carlton University where I met Ross on the bus who had also had a relaxing afternoon. I must admit, I was super tired but it had been refreshing to spend some time away from my bike and the chain grease and bike-talk. I’m not sure why I’m in such a ‘changeable’ mood today – maybe nerves for my visa appointment tomorrow.
I sat in my room at Carlton and worked on my blog and ended up having an ‘early night’ because I was exhausted. Tomorrow had rain (arrrgh – I am so tired of all this bloody rain!!) in the forecast and was due to be a long day. The rest of the gang has gone out to clean out an all-you-can-eat sushi bar. I wonder if the owners of the restaurant know what they’re letting themselves into when they let that gang in the door..!!
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